Asee peer logo

Guiding First-year Students through the Design Process in Linked Computer Aided Design and Technical Writing Courses

Download Paper |

Conference

2022 ASEE Zone IV Conference

Location

Vancouver

Publication Date

May 12, 2022

Start Date

May 12, 2022

End Date

May 14, 2022

Conference Session

Innovation In Teaching - I

Tagged Topic

Conference Submission

Page Count

13

DOI

10.18260/1-2--44737

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/44737

Download Count

112

Paper Authors

biography

Matthew J Haslam Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott

visit author page

Department Chair, Humanities and Communication

visit author page

Download Paper |

Abstract

The authors plan to submit a complete paper.

At the recommendation of the College of Engineering Industrial Advisory Board, faculty at _____ University began integrating communication instruction with the senior capstone design classes in 2003. This effort was formalized in 2013 when a one-semester Speech class was replaced with a two-semester Advanced Technical Communication class that is co-taught with the capstone classes.

For these co-taught courses, a communication instructor and an engineering instructor work in tandem to guide student teams through the year-long design process. Teams report on their progress and results through technical reports and presentations modeled after those used in industry.

The authors, who co-teach a mechanical engineering senior capstone design class, have observed that students come to the class unprepared for the open-ended, team-based work expected. While students have learned to solve a variety of teacher-provided engineering problems, they have not learned to follow an engineering process to identify and formulate a real-world problem and to apply their problem-solving skills to that problem.

Moreover, students have worked in project teams in earlier classes, but these projects are smaller in scope than the two-semester capstone projects. The students also have little experience preparing documents and presentations as a team.

To address these deficiencies, the authors initiated a first-year “cornerstone” design experience that combines a first-year Computer Aided Design (CAD) class with a Technical Report Writing class to mimic the capstone experience. Each student is tasked with identifying a real-world problem and writing a Request for Proposal (RFP) that defines the problem and identifies top-level requirements. A subset of these problems is selected, and teams are assigned to solve the problems through the remainder of the semester.

Each team conducts trade studies and presents their selected concepts in a Conceptual Design Review. The teams write a proposal that is responsive to the RFP. As their design matures, they present a Preliminary Design Review where they are expected to have complete CAD models of the design. The team project culminates with a Critical Design Review where they must show full compliance with the design requirements. The CDR is accompanied by a complete drawing package suitable for manufacturing.

Students learn the SolidWorks CAD modeling tools, formal drawing standards, and design for manufacturability. They also learn to form and communicate evidence-based technical arguments as they develop skills for writing documents and making presentations as a team.

Initial results of these linked courses are promising. The students indicated in an anonymous, mid-semester survey that they value this combined approach. They believe they are learning the design, teamwork, and communication skills they will need in their future careers, and they appreciate learning these skills in the context of an engineering problem. The authors have also observed improvements in the team-based writing and presentations.

Despite the successes, the authors have recognized multiples challenges that will be addressed in the next offering of the linked courses.

Haslam, M. J. (2022, May), Guiding First-year Students through the Design Process in Linked Computer Aided Design and Technical Writing Courses Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Zone IV Conference, Vancouver. 10.18260/1-2--44737

ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2022 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015